Returning
by Ten Story
Summary: Alternate Universe. Twenty years after the death of Voldemort, Harry and Remus visit Azkaban, which is now a historical monument. Together they reminisce about Sirius. Suggestive slash, Sirius/Remus.


-1 "Welcome to Azkaban, the most famous wizard prison in the history of wizardry. You may buy your tickets for our tour to your left, and then step down the hallway to your right. The next tour will begin in ten minutes."

Footsteps both large and small reverberated through the grimy, stone hallways of Azkaban, closed now for nearly twenty years. No dementors, no screams of terror and misery - only brightly lit chandeliers… and a gift shop.

Boatloads of tourists from all over the globe were unloading from magically piloted rowboats across the North Sea to the castle-like structure surrounded by enormous, jagged rocks. One low plateau on the Eastern side held a large graveyard... occasionally there were flowers placed on the graves, but most were bare and in disrepair.

School classes, old couples, young couples and giggling teens passed through the front gates, where once terrified men and women passed through in fear of never passing out again. They poured out their galleons for the tours, the merchandise, and flashed photographs in every corner of the nearly crumbling structure. In fact, half of the outside of the walls were covered in scaffolding, where magicians and enchanted tools were restoring the now proclaimed historical monument.

As one boat unloaded, two figures stepped out at the very end - one with a cane, the other with thick glasses and a wild head of dark hair. Entering the gates, the man with the cane's eyes darted around restlessly, soaking in every moss covered stone, every door and barred window. The other man laid down a few galleons for two tickets, then dumped nearly all of the rest of his purse into the "DONATIONS APPRECIATED" coffer. The lady issuing tickets smiled and was about to thank him, looking directly at him for the first time. When she made eye contact, her smile instantly faded in shock. She put her lips to her mouth and watched him walk away after he gave her a wink.

He walked back towards his companion, who was standing now in the center of the courtyard.

"You ready to go, Remus? The tour is just leaving."

Remus paused, rolling his shoulders back with the help of his cane support. He ran a hand through his grey-white hair, now with only a few ash-blonde patches left in it. After taking a deep breath, he nodded, following Harry closely.

"On behalf of the Ministry of Magic, I welcome you to our Azkaban tour!" the tour guide said. The school children were delighted, whispering hurriedly in the front rows. "Please be mindful that there will be no wandering without escort, and those who are pregnant or have weak constitutions should not participate in this tour. Now, as some of you may already know, Azkaban is not only the most notorious wizard prison in the world, but also the second oldest, the first being Nurmengard. Built during the first Goblin War, its original towers are still intact, with its walls now being restored with as little new material as possible. It was closed twenty years ago per the request of Mr. Harry Potter, the Boy who Lived, who was an Auror for the Ministry of Magic at the time and only the age of twenty. The Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, had bestowed Mr. Potter any request he wished, in thanks for his destroying of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Mr. Shacklebolt had already banned the use of Dementors from the prison three years prior, their presence being a sign of corruption within the Ministry in years past. When Mr. Potter became the Minister of Magic five years ago, he declared Azkaban a historic site in honor of his Godfather, Mr. Sirius Black. We will discuss Mr. Black further when we reach the high class criminal ward. Moving on..."

Remus laughed quietly at the back of the crowd as they went forward. "He'd be pleased to be mentioned in their opening statement."

Harry nodded. "Especially with how many tours they have each day."

"Always a sucker for the dramatics. ...Harry, didn't you tell me that it was close to reaching two hundred thousand visitors?"

"Two hundred and fifty thousand, actually."

"I say... most impressive. Too bad Ginny and the kids couldn't be with us today, they'd of boosted up the numbers a little more."

Harry paused, a little sadly. "Well, I thought that... you'd want to come alone."

"And why was that?"

"...You'll see."

"The most famous dark wizards of all the ages have lived in these cells over the centuries, the first being..." the tour guide droned on. A small child near Remus whispered mischievously to another.

"It would have been so wicked to have seen this place running, with all the dementors..."

"Yeah, and the criminals! Would've cursed your sorry arse faster than they'd look at ya!"

"I assure you, young man, it wasn't glamorous." Remus interrupted. Listening to them talk like that made his skin crawl. "By _any _means."

The two children gasped in shock at the older adult and went up towards their parents. Remus shook his head in amazement.

"It's like a dream. Not real. I never in all my years would have thought children would describe this place as fascinating - that they'd actually _want _to come here."

"When I opened this place I was hoping they'd take it as a lesson from our history... but it doesn't seem that way."

"Hm, as usual Harry you have too much faith in humanity."

"And if you look to your left, you will see a cell that was once the home of Barty Crouch Jr…."

Harry chuckled. "Sirius used to tell me you were the naïve one in that crew."

"So I was, but in case you've let time get away from you, that was a very… very… _very _long time ago."

"Do people ever really change?"

Remus paused. "…No."

"I rest my case, then."

Upon climbing a long flight of stairs in the center of the westernmost turret, the party entered a particularly damp and moss-ridden corridor, tinted green with slime and bacteria. Remus knew immediately that this was the place by the cold wind that flew through his heart upon crossing the threshold.

"I warn those who walk into this corridor," the tour guide explained. "We have reached the high class criminal ward, and it still has a remaining suppressive curse embedded within its walls. Every auror in the world has tried with every solution they can think of to remove it, but to no avail. This curse was obviously meant to suppress the wills and spirits of those within at any cost, especially if there happened to be an escape attempt. If it is something you cannot abide, please let me know and I will be happy to request an elf to escort you back to the entrance."

"_This _is what he felt for twelve years? And this doesn't even include the Dementors." Remus whispered in shock.

Harry looked deeply saddened. "When I first came to clean the place out, there were many more curses. Hermione couldn't even finish walking through. She had to leave." He stopped for a moment, blinking furiously. "There were screams… always screams, over and over in your brain…"

"Ah, and here we are at last…"the tour guide chimed again.

"Remus, this is it."

Remus craned his neck up to see over the bobbing heads of the crowd. He saw a doorway, an iron gate, ten or so magic locks all around the outside rim… the stink, the hate, the pure evil that his soul felt like a sponge soaking up water… how did he survive? How was it that Sirius had always, no matter what the circumstance, been stronger than him?

"Several persons have escaped Azkaban's walls, the first being the occupant of this very cell, number eighteen hundred and nine. At one time the most wanted of all criminals and considered the most dangerous man imprisoned at Azkaban due to his crimes of wizard and muggle murder, in a daring feat, Mr. Sirius Black used his unregistered animagus form to slip through the bars and swim to shore, undetected by the dementors. Mr. Black was later found innocent after his death in 1995, due to overwhelming new evidence uncovered by his schoolmate, Mr. Remus Lupin, and the late Albus Dumbledore. Please, no stepping inside, as per the request of Mr. Potter. Shall we move on?"

Shall we move on? Did she really say that? So that was Sirius's legacy. All these little children, these clueless adults, these people who knew nothing… that was all they would ever know of Sirius Black. Because he was gone now. Gone for over twenty years. And still it didn't seem that over a day had passed.

"Remus, hang back for a moment." said Harry.

"But the tour is moving on…" Remus argued.

"Just wait a moment. …I beg your pardon, ma'am," Harry turned to the tour guide, trying to pull her to the side quietly. She immediately recognized him and lit up like a light bulb.

"Oh, I beg your pardon for not recognizing you sooner! Ladies and Gentlemen, we are honored today with a surprise visit from Mr. Harry Potter himself! Welcome, sir!"

There were gasps and a round of applause in general for Harry, who showed a polite face but anyone could see he was slightly irritated. He pulled the woman closer and hushed his voice.

"Ma'am, if I may, I need to linger here for a few moments while the tour goes on."

"Of course sir! As you wish!" She said just as loud, embarrassing Harry further. "We will leave you in peace. Come along, ladies and gentlemen!"

Remus laughed as they left, leaving the hallway blissfully quiet. "Well done, Harry. That was very discreet."

Harry smiled at first, but it quickly faded. He awkwardly stepped back a little.

"I still don't see why I couldn't have just seen it with the rest of the tour."

"Just… go inside. I'm going to hang back here. I'll be right over here if you need me."

Remus muttered to himself as he hobbled over to the door. "I'm not a child; I'm too old to be babied like this. Why I…"

He stopped. What he saw absolutely shocked him.

It was a tiny room, piles of straw in only one corner and a moth eaten blanket in another corner. Little pictures were drawn on the floor and the walls with chalk of boats, quidditch games, dragons, wizard duels, and various thoughts. Remus's eyes filled with tears as he read them, tracing them with his fingers.

"Last night I dreamed of Harry. We were on a boat sailing far away. Remus was with us, calming the sea." "I wonder what it means to truly love something? I don't think I have ever understood."

"Inside my room, I am safe. There is no evil here except the evil in me."

"Lily spoke to me. She told me to eat something. I'm hungry, but it's all poison. I have to be free."

Little paper origami creatures were yellowed with age and piled up in the center of the floor. Obviously these were the things he amused himself with. With great difficulty Remus reached down and pocketed one that was in the shape of a dog.

It was then that his watery eyes looked up to see one message so huge it took up an entire wall. In humongous letters it read:

"Sirius Black died in this cell. He was not guilty. Tell Remus Lupin that I love him."

Remus sobbed, leaning his forehead against the chalk lettering. "I have wronged you in every way, every step of my life." he said. "But you need to know… that I never stopped loving you either. Ever…"

After ages of sobbing uncontrollably, Remus leaned against the opposite wall and curled up in the old blanket. He tried smelling it, but there was only the fowl stench of rot and mildew. He played with the little paper dog in his hand. Harry walked up and leaned against the door cell.

"I moved his grave marker." he said. "In the Black family cemetery?"

"Where did you put it?"

"… next to Dad and Mum's."

Remus smiled. "He'd like that. He always wanted to be a Potter."

Harry helped Remus up and they began to leave.

"And Merlin knows he doesn't belong with those blasted Slytherins anyway. He was always a Gryffindor, whether he knew it or not."

Harry nodded.

"Harry."

"Yes, Remus?"

"You'll find a spot for me over there, won't you? When the time comes."

"….I promise I will."


End file.
